LOVE, SENIOR

Every weekend, my family will spend time together doing some activities like storytelling. For me, spending time with family is worth every second. Suddenly, my kids asked me a surprising question. They asked me “ Mom, how do you and dad get married?”.

The story began when I was 20 years old. At that time, I was still a student at the University of Kuala Lumpur. My dad was a successful entrepreneur while my mom was a pretty model. I was closer to my father than my mother. This is because my mother was always busy working so that I felt neglected. My dad has a best friend, Mr. Abdullah. They have been closed since primary school. Mr. Abdullah was a kind person because his family always helped when my family was in trouble. He had a son, Aliff. His son was a senior student at the same University as me. Aliff was 22 years old and he graduated at 23 years old. At the campus, I was a naughty student and always did not enter the class. One day, my dad knew I always made trouble at University. He was very angry with my behavior at the campus. So, he decided to enlist the help of his best friend’s son, Aliff. My dad asked for help from Aliff to watch out for my behavior at the campus for sure I did not break the rules of the University.  At the time, I did not have a lot of friends. It is because I was arrogant and did not want to hang out with everyone.

One day, I was bullying a student on my campus. Aliff had found out about it and scolded me. He had prevented me from fighting with other students. He warned me if I repeated the act, he would tell my parents. At the time, I hated him. I assumed that he was just a troublemaker and likes to interfere in other people’s affairs.

On Sunday, my father took me to his friend’s house. The area around my father’s friend's house was attractive because there were many flowers and there were also agricultural areas for cultivation. When I saw the scenery there, I felt calm and was able to forget all the problems I faced. The region was owned by my father's friend, Mr. Abdullah.

One day, a sad thing happened in my life. My parents passed away because of an awful accident. At that point, I felt that there was no meaning to living in this world without my parents. I do not have anybody to express my feelings and felt very lonely. After that incident happened I lived in depression and stopped studying.

At that point, Aliff's parents felt sorry and sad to see my situation like that. They think they need to take responsibility for me because my parents were their close acquaintances. They invited me to stay with them. I agreed and was placed in a rental house close to their house. Their family is very kind and always gives advice to keep my spirits up. Aliff also felt sorry and wants to be friends with me. During my time there, Aliff always gave support and encouragement for me to live peacefully in this world. He always told me to be strong to face all allegations. Over time I felt that I was already in love with him because he treated me well. He took me on a road trip, cooked, and did anything for me. Aliff suggested that I should continue studying but I am not ready yet.

One day, I expressed my feelings for him. But at that moment, he was confused and feel guilty for me. I had met him at a restaurant and expressed what I had long kept secret. But Aliff said, “I'm sorry, we can't be together. I already have a girlfriend". After hearing the words come out of Aliff's mouth, I felt very sad. That night, I had no appetite for food. However, I will not give up. I will still try to convince him that I love him. But Aliff sticks to his stance. "I just consider you as a friend no more than that". That’s when my tears honestly fell. I feel very hurt about being given fake hope. He has treated me well and given me all my wishes.

Once that day happened, I planned to continue my studies in the city. I want to calm down over the disappointment I am facing. I try to move on from him and forget everything that happened. I have to study hard to be a successful person like my parents.

One day, I saw Aliff in town. He went to the hospital alone. I wondered what had happened. After a few days, I just found out that Aliff had cancer disease. I felt sorry and went to see him. I apologized for the action I have taken for not being there when he was in trouble. "I'm sorry for being insensitive with the difficulties you have faced". That is the verse I have said to him. He said, "it's okay, I don't want you to worry about me". He also said to me "Actually I really want to build a family with you but at the same time I can’t bear to see you live together with a man who had a cancer disease”. But I never care about it. I will always take good care of him because I love him so much. Eventually, he proposed to me to be his wife. Finally, we are happy until now and kids, that’s how I met your father.